Social media might be most top-of-mind, but your website is where the work really gets done.
By Jennifer Paulson
We see you professionals out there using social media managers (or going the DIY route) to post photos and results from shows. After each big event, newsfeeds are flooded with photos bearing sponsor tags and hashtags, which is a huge promotional step forward from the past. We even see some of you posting trainer tips or participating in NRHA’s Trainer Tip Tuesday, which is fantastic!
But did you know there’s an even more powerful way to supplement that work and has more staying power than a social-media post that’s at the whim of an algorithm? It’s your website.
When you post content to your website, search engines can find that great video you produced about staying straight in the center of the arena, the story about the horse that’s been in your barn for most of its career and is now teaching short stirrup riders the ropes, your accomplishments that might not make the pages of the Reiner but are definitely noteworthy, and even sponsor content.
The idea of creating content might have you crawling back under your pile of winter horse blankets in fear, but it shouldn’t. We’re not talking about creating magazine feature-length articles. (Although when you do contribute to a magazine, many will provide you with PDFs of the article to post on your website or raw materials to post on your blog, as long as you give credit.) Your articles can be as simple as an image and five to ten sentences.
Here’s a simple example. You’re sponsored by Company X and love using their quick wraps. The wraps are part of your daily routine, and your program is better for having them around. Hallelujah for quick wraps. Get a photo of yourself or someone in your barn applying the wraps. Write a few sentences about why these wraps are the best, plus a link to where they can buy them from Company X.
Once your post is complete, you can share that to social media, which will lead the reader to your article about quick wraps, as well as give them the chance to click around your website to read your other articles, learn about your history with reiners (because you definitely have an About page on your website), and find your contact information to talk to you about putting a horse in training. If that content creation still seems too daunting, there are resources you can tap to do the leg work for you. Reach out to independent writers to discuss ideas and a scope of work for your budget. The investment in yourself, your program, and your website can pay for itself very quickly when planned, executed, and promoted effectively.
